AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am SO SORRY! It's really hard keeping track of two websites, but I am back with two more chapters. I'll try posting the rest this week and then on with the next Danny Phantom story... Granted I can finish that one.
Nicholas and the three other astronauts chosen for the sample picking followed Danny down the corridors until they had reached the airlock of the shuttle, where their suits were being held. Danny walked over to his. "This is the Extravehicular Mobility Unit," he announced, grabbing the different pieces of the suit. "For short, the EMU. This is what you guys will be wearing whenever you leave the shuttle. These are the pieces that make the famous astronaut suit you guys see on TV and in story books. The only difference is that, considering our missions are special, so are the suits. They are just as durable as the regular EMUs, but slightly thinner and lighter. It allows more movement."
He held up a pair of shorts and tossed one piece to everyone. "You guys know how to get changed," he said. "So let's get to it."
One by one, the astronauts suited up. First came the Urine Containment System, the UCS, which were the shorts Danny had held up. Then followed the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG); the Lower Torsos Assembly of the suit; and the Hard Upper Torso. For the HUT, which was hanging on the wall, each astronaut had to duck beneath it and dive up into it in order to properly fit inside and assemble it together. Once all the connections between each piece of the EMU were in place and their communications were on, they grabbed their helmets and placed them over their heads.
"This is the funniest way to dress for work," one of the other three astronauts announced, placing his helmet in place. "We put an adult diaper on. My sister is never gonna hear the end of this."
Danny tapped his helmet. "We won't need the sun visors because the asteroid is safely hidden from the sun," he explained over their communications. "And our suits will be able to take the cold temperatures out there. But make sure your communicators are up, so that if you feel any slight difference in temperature, you can alert me or someone on the crew."
"Yessir," the astronauts replied.
Danny pulled himself away from the wall and walked over to a steel cabinet in the corner. "Our suits have the proper gear we need for scooping up the samples," he explained, "but not the means of protecting ourselves." He turned around and tossed a ghost ray gun to each of them.
The woman gasped and caught hers before staring at it. "A Ghost Blaster?" she said, looking at her captain through her helmet. "Are we really going to need this?"
"We may or may not," Danny replied, pulling out the map of the Ghost Zone he had been studying earlier. "Best to be on the safe side, if you ask me."
"Why don't you have one?"
"I… don't need one. I've got a Fenton Thermos on my suit. That's all I need." Danny opened his map and looked at it. "Listen up, folks: we've got only one hour to get this job done. Don't pick anything else than what we need, and don't take anything more than what is asked. We want this mission done and over with, Capiche?"
"What if we take longer than that?" the third astronaut asked.
"We won't."
"But what if we—!"
"We won't," Danny repeated firmly. "If you guys stay close to me, we won't spend any more time on there than we need, clear?"
"… Y-yessir."
The first of the three astronauts pointed at Danny's map. "What is that?" he asked.
Danny looked at it. "Just a map," he replied, closing it up and tucking it away. "Nothing you need to worry about." He turned to face the lift that would carry them down and out of the shuttle. "Okay, Dr. McCarthy; lower us down," he announced in the microphone.
"Yessir, Captain," Arthur replied. "Doors are sealed tight; lowering shaft now."
The ground they were standing on slowly began to lower. Nicholas stumbled for a moment before regaining his balance. This was it. This would be the first time he stepped out into space.
He suddenly began to wonder if it was a good thing or not.
"Hoooooie; check out the landscape!" the first astronaut announced as they stepped out from beneath the ship.
"It's like staring up at the sky in our backyard, only better!" the woman exclaimed.
"And bigger!"
Nicholas took two leaps forward and stared at the vastness of space around him. "It's amazing," he whispered. "Dad was right; you never know what beauty really is until you see the universe."
"And you can see the moon from here too," the third man announced, pointing in a direction. "And that blue dot there; is that Earth?"
"Wow-o-wow-o-wow!" the first man laughed.
Danny pulled out an ecto-detector and began walking forward. He activated his search light on his helmet. "Okay, guys, let's get to work," he announced. "Scoop up a few rocks and dust you find until the container you've got is filled. But remember to stay where I can see you."
They immediately set off to work, exploring the asteroid while speaking to each other about the beauty of space and what stories they would have to share with their families once they returned to Earth.
Nicholas stayed near Danny, remembering the Lieutenant's order to stand near his captain. If a ghost portal was to open soon, Nicholas wanted to make sure everyone, including his commander, was safe from harm.
Even if Danny did already know how to take care of himself.
They walked about for the next thirty minutes, sometimes whistling and sometimes singing. Every now and then, they would take giant leaps into the air and land in silly positions. Even Nicholas found himself enjoying the fun.
But Danny did not. Although he had done so in the past before, this time was different. He kept pulling out his map and looking at it, making sure they had ample of time left to do their work.
After several more minutes, however, a sound high above them suddenly caused Danny to gasp and look up. There was a bright flash of light and then a green circle of swirling light began to take shape.
Danny stared at it in horror before looking at his map again. "Oh, no," he said worriedly.
Nicholas and the others looked at him, having heard what he said over their communicators. "Sir?" Nicholas said. "Is everything alright?"
Danny did not look up at him. "How long have we been out here, Dr. McCarthy?" he asked.
"About forty-five minutes, Captain," Arthur's voice replied. "Why?"
Danny looked upwards. Nicholas and the three other astronauts looked up as well and gasped.
"What in tarnation?" the first man exclaimed.
Danny stared at his map again. "It's changed time," he said worriedly. "The portal's opening now."
"The what?" the woman exclaimed.
"Someone must have detected me."
"What are you talking about, Sir?" the third man asked fearfully.
Danny looked at Nicholas. "Have you all found samples?" he asked urgently.
Nicholas nodded. "Yeah, we each have enough for studying," he replied. "Plenty of ectoplasma remains to take home."
"Good. Then load it onto the ship."
"Sir?"
Danny closed the map. "We need to lift off of this place now, Doctor," he said a little more urgently than before. "No questions."
Nicholas began to share the same anxiety as the other three astronauts. He looked at them worriedly before staring at his commander again. "Captain, what's going on?" he asked fearfully.
Danny opened his mouth, but to everyone's surprise, his breath came out visible and fogged up the bottom half of his transparent visor. The man stared at it and gasped softly before pointing at the shuttle. "Get everyone on board now, Dr. Stevenson," he ordered firmly. He looked aside. "Dr. McCarthy, get everyone set for takeoff. We're leaving immediately."
"Yessir," Arthur replied.
Nicholas held out his arms. "What about you?" he asked.
Danny waved an arm in front of him. "Forget about me," he replied. "I need to make sure this area is clear for takeoff. Get in the ship, all of you."
"But, Sir—!"
"That's an order, Doctor!" Danny scolded loudly. "Get in the ship, NOW!"
Nicholas stared at him in concern for a second longer before turning and looking at the others. "Come on, guys; we need to get on the ship, now," he said, ushering them off.
"What about the captain?" the woman wondered.
"He'll follow us. Now come on."
Danny watched them leap for the shuttle a few dozen yards away before turning towards the portal. With a frown, he turned off his searchlight, casting his entire body into darkness so that no one on the shuttle could see him, and then took several bounds off to the side to change his position. There, he came to a stop and crouched low, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The portal flashed once more and out of it flew an all too-familiar spirit. Danny recognized it from one of the ghosts that used to attack him on a regular basis as a teenager.
He narrowed his eyes as they turned green. "Technus," he said under his breath. He must be here to steal the technology on the shuttle, he thought. And who knows how powerful he is now, considering I've been stuck in the ghost zone for five years. Let's just hope it isn't as bad as I think it is.
He noticed Technus spot the shuttle, and after recognizing the crew members that were still hoping towards it, the ghost smiled and immediately took chase.
Danny gasped, knowing that the amount of technology in their suits was enough for the ghost to harm, even destroy, the four astronauts. He bared his teeth. "Time to turn the tables, Technus," he growled as a halo of light appeared around his waist. "And time for a change of suits. GOING GHOST!"